Railway-car construction



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July 27 1926.

Witnesses 5i;

July 27,1926. 1,593,749

' A. CAMPBELL RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV. 26. 1923 3Sheets-Sheei2 flu center A raj Z8 Chm h5g1 Wi e AM Ms Att n y A. CAMPBELL RAILWAYCAR CONSTRUCTION July 27 1926.

Filed Nov. 26. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 In venlfar Ar 52 @mlfieZZ By 95/(all Patented duly 27, 1926).

ARGYLE CAMPBELL, @li GHICAGlO, ILLIN'UIS, ASSIGNQR TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAYEQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

namwar-oan cousrnnc'rrori.

application filed November 26, 1923. Serial No. 677,145.

My invention relates to improvements in railway car construction. Oneobject of my invention is to provide increased capacity for a car,having a given length and height, by increasing the width of the bodyintermediate the upper and lower margins of the side walls.

A second object of my invention is to provide a depressed panel on theside of the 'car near the end thereof for the reception of laddertreads.

A third object of my invention is to improve the construction of a carside wall by eliminating from the exterior face thereof, suchprojections as are liable to distortion or destruction due to engaginprojecting obstructions along the right way or on adjoining trains.

A specific object of my invention is to provide a more secure anchoragefor the car side wall to the underframe and to further provide adequatebraces for an inwardly off- In the drawings forming a part of thisspecification, Figure l is a side elevational view of part of a dropbottom gondola car, showing one end of the same and illustrating theimproved construction from the end of the car to a point inwardly oi thebolster. Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view through thecar corresponding substantially to the section line 2-2 of Fig. 1, thedoor and operatin mechanism in the right hand half of sai Fig. 2 havingbeen omitted in order to more clearly show the car construction. Fig. 3is a vertical elevational end view of the car illustrated in Fig. 1. AndFig. t is a horizontal sectional view of the end portion of the car andcor-reiponding substantially to line H of My improved construction isshown, by way of illustration, as applied, to a gondola car of thegeneral service type, having the floor formed of a series of drop doors,and in said drawings A denotes, broadly, the end wall of the car; B-Bthe side walls of the car, G dumping doors hinged to the center sill Dof the car, E crossloeams extending from the center sill to the sides ofthe car, F the body bolsters, G operating shafts journalled above thecrossbeams, and H selflocking linkage mechanism of a well-known typeconnecting the shafts G with the doors. While 'I have shown only one endof the car, it will be understood that the two ends ot the car are ofsubstantially the same construction.

As will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings, the bolsters andcrossbeams extend from the center sills to .thevertical plane of theoutside face of the car wall and are there suitably connected to thesame in the novel manner to be described. llnasmuch as both side walls Bof the car are of the same general construction, a description of onewill sutlice. Each of said walls B is formed with a base portion whichincludes a panel section at each end of the car and a top edge section11* which extends from one end of the car to the other and is preterahlydisposed in the same vertical plane as the panels 10*10. Said top edgesection 11 is secured to a, side top reinforcing member 12 which extendsfrom end to end of the car. The lower portion of the side slopesdownwardly and inwardly as indicated at 13 and is formed at its lowermargin with a vertically extending strip llto which a reinforcing angleiron 15 is secured. Said lower portion of the side is extended in--wardly into the car beyond the vertical plane of the aforesaid sections10 and 11 in order to provide sufficient space to house the dooroperating mechanism. Intermediate the end panels 10, the side wall ofthe car is formed with a pan-shaped section 16 which has the effect ofdisposing a portion of the side wall outwardly as indicated at 17 andproviding a'transversely widened portion for the car throughout aconsiderable proportion of the height thereof. Said section orembossment 17 is preferably in the form of atruncated pyramid with theupper horizontally extending sloping side 18 and the verticallyextending sloping sides 19 thereof merging into their respectiveadjacent sections 10 and 11. The lower horizontally extending slo inside of the aforesaid embossment is preiera ly constituted by thesloping side 13 which is extended outwardly and upwardly from the basesections or panels 1.0 throughout the length of the car and for the fulldistance intermediate the panels 10. Each of the base panels 10 isconnected to the end walls A of the car by dll riveting the same to aninwardly turned flange 20 preferably formed inte rally with the car endwall A. The car end wall A is adequately strengthened against bucklingby means of a transversely'extending top member 21 and a plurality ofstrengthening members 2222 each formed with an inwardly turned flange 23secured to the car side wall.

A series of ladder treads 24 are disposed on the panel 10, and by reasonof said panel being disposed in a different vertical plane from the sidewall section 17, and inwardly therefrom. the ladder treads may thus becontained within the clearance limit of the car without the necessity ofrestricting the width of the car throughout its entire length.

Depending from said panel 10 are ladder extensions 2525 to which aresecured the step 26 and an additional ladder tread. The side wall B isadequately stiffened and braced to the transverse crossbeams or bolstersby means of inside stakes 27 conforming to the shape of the wall andsuitably secured there to, said stakes having heels as at 28 and bywhich the stakes are secured to the respective beams. As best shown inFig. 4, said stakes 27 are preferably flanged at 29 and thereby securedto the car side wall and on the opposite side to the said flange. Anangle iron 30 is secured to each stake by means of one of its flangesand to the car side wall by means of the opposite flange. Each angleiron 30 is preferably extended to form a heel corresponding to the heel28 of the stake 27 and which is also secured to the transverse beam.Beneath the sloping side wall section and at each transverse beam andbolster, there is disposed a flanged filler member 31 which is disposedat the side of the beam and extends upwardly above the same and issecured by means 'of one of its flanges 32 to the sloping car side 13and also to the vertical margin 14 and to the angle 15, and by means ofanother flange 33 to a plate 34 which extends upwardly from the end ofthe underframe cross-member and which is also secured thereto and to thecar side wall.

In this manner, each cross member of the underframe is connected to. theside walls by means of rivets in direct shear through the medium ofrivets 35 which connect flange 33 to plate 34, said plate 34 beingriveted to the car side, and also by means of rivet 36 which connectsflange. 32 with the vertical strip 14 of the side wall and angle 15. Therivet 36 also passes through the angle 30 which forms a part. of theside stake. The crossbeam E, as shown best in the ri hthand portion ofFig. 2 is connected with t e memer 31 by means of rivets 37 which arealso in direct shear. Such a construction provides great strength withlight weight and is of special importance in cars of this type inasmuchas a considerable proportion of the weight of the load intermediate thebolsters is transmitted through the car sides acting as girders and thecross-beams then depend from the side walls and receive supporttherefrom. The crossbeams being thus supported at their extreme endsfrom the car sides by rivets in direct shear and also at a pointinwardly thereof as by the rivet 36, a construction of unusual stabilityis produced. While in the present instance I have shown only one rivet36 connecting the vertical edge strip 14 with the member 31, it isobvious that changes may be made permitting the use of more rivets.

Beneath the sloping portion 13, are disposed the longitudinallyextending door operating shafts G which are preferably disposed abovethe cross beams E and supported in suit-able bearings 38 mounted on eachcross beam. Said bearings 38 are preferably formed with a web portion 39secured to the web of the member 31 and flanges 40 and 41 respectivelysecured to the crossbeam E and to the vertically extending plate 34.

Each vertically extending plate 34 on the car side is preferablyextended to the upper chord of the same and secured thereto and also tosuitable brackets 42 which serve to brace the upper part of the carside. Intermediate the side stakes. the side wall 01' the car issuitably reinforced against buckling, preferably by pressing therein oneor more corrugations 43, each said corrugation having the ends thereofmerging into the sloping marginal walls of the truncated embossment andproviding. in effect. a corrugation having the ends thereof taperinggradually in depth and width to provide against tearing of the plateduring the process of manufacture.

From the preceding description, considered in connection with the.drawing. it will also be observed that. in a car having a given overallwidth and wherein the door operating mechanism is located above thecross members and beneath a sloping section of the side wall, I amenabled to provide greater door opening area transversely of the car,since the lower edge of the side wall, which defines the outer portionof the door opening, is disposed farther away from the center sill in anamount corresponding approximately to the width of the common outsidestakes.

While I have shown and described herein what I now consider thepreferred embodi ment of my invention, the same is merely illustrativeand I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within thescope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim l. A railway car side having the central lld portion thereofdished outwardly to provide a car of increased width and capacity, saiddished portion having a substantially flat main portion and marginssloping inwardly therefrom at the top, bottom and sides thereof; saiddished portion commencing an appreciable distance from the end of thecar in order to provide a recess intermediate the end of said dishedportion and the end of the car for the accommodation of a ladder.

2. In a railway car side wall, the combination with a plate having amendpanel and an upper margin both disposed in substantially the same plane;of a vertical reinforcing member connecting the end panel and the endwallof said car, said plate having the main body portion thereofdisposed outwardly from said end panel and upper mar gin and connectedtherewith by means of angularly disposed Wall portions, the lowerportion of the plate being inwardly inclined.

3. In a railway car, the combination with the end wall; of a side wallhaving the central portion thereof dished outwardly to I provide a carof increased width and capacity. said dished portion presenting acentral section disposed in a substantially vertical plane and havingthe margins thereof sloping inwardly along the horizontal and verticalportions, said sloping margins being adapted to merge into a commonplane constituting the base of the car side, said base being reinforcedat the top by a lon itudinally extending member and at the si es byattachment 'to the respective car end walls; and a ladder mounted on theend of the car intermediate the end wall and the adjacent verticalmargin of the central dished portion.

4. In a railway car, the combination of a side wall having the centralportion thereof extended outwardly to provide a car of increased widthand carrying capacity, said portion being formed with a central flatbody section and margins sloping inwardly at the top, sides and bottomthereof; and door raising mechanism disposed beneath said inwardlysloping bottom section.

5. In a railway car, a plate side wall having the central portionthereof embossed outwardly in the form of a truncated pyramid panel,said panel commencing at an ap-.

preciable distance from the ends of the car in order to provide a spacefor ladder treads substantially within the plane of the outer face ofsaid central panel. I

6. A railway car element comprising; a plate having a base portion, anembossment formed in the said plate whereby a portion of the plate isdisposed in a different vertical plane to the base portion, a wallconnecting said outwardly disposed portion of the plate with the baseportion and extending at an angle between said respective planes;

a stifi'ening corrugation formed in the said plate and having an endthereof merging into an angularly disposed wall to thereby provide acorrugation having an end gradually decreasing in depth and width.

In a railway car, the combination with a car side having a dished panelwith a margin thereof sloping inwardly; of a stillening corrugationembossed therein, the end of said corrugation merging in the aforesaidsloping margin thereby providing a corrugation of gradually reducedwidth and depth near the end thereof.

8. In a railway car, thecombination with a car side having an embossedpanel with the upper and lower margins thereof sloping inwardly; of astiffening corrugation formed in the said panel, the respective ends ofsaid corrugation merging in the afore said upper and lower slopingmargins thereby providing a corrugation of gradually reduced width anddepth at the ends thereof.

9. In a railway car, the combination with a car side having the lowerportion thereof sloping inwardly and downwardly; of a stake on the innerface of the carside: a plate secured to the exterior face of the saidside and extending downwardly below the same; a crossbeam extendingtransversely of the car and secured to the aforesaid plate and to saidstake; and a filler member disposed beneath said sloping floor andsecured thereto and to said cross-beam, said filler member beingextended in the plane of the crossbeam and secured thereto.

10. In a railway car, the combination with a car side having the lowerportion thereof sloping inwardly; of an inner stake secured to andextending along the inner face of the car side; a flat plate secured tothe outer face of the car side; a cross-beam extending transversely ofthe car and secured to the aforesaid stake and outer plate; and a fillermember disposed in the plane of the crossbeam and secured thereto withrivets disposed in shear, said filler member being extended above thecrossbeam and secured to the sloping side, to the stake and to the outerplate. i

11. In a railway car, the combination with a car side having the lowerportion thereof inwardly directed; of an inner stake secured to theinner face of the car body side, said side having the outer face thereofsubstantially in alignment with the end of the crossbeam and having itslower portion inwardly directed; a fiat plate rising from the outer endof the crossbeam and secured thereto and to the outer face of the carside; afiller member interposed between said outer plate and theinwardly directed portion of the car side and secured to both of thesame, said filler member being extended in the plane of the crossbeamand secured thereto; a door operating shaft extending longitudinally ofthe car and disposed above the crossbeam; and a bracket constituting aiournal for the shaft extending through said filler member, said bracketbeing secured to said filler member, to the crossbeam and to the outerplate.

. 13. In a dum car, the combination with an underframe lncluding acenter sill structure and cross-members; of end walls; side walls, eachside wall having the greater portion thereof extending vertically andsaid vertical portion determining substantially the maximum overallwidth of the car, each side wall having a ortion at one end there-' ofinwardly ofi'set rom the main portion to thereby provide space for aladder structure disposed within said planes defining the maximumoverall width of the car, the lower portions of said side walls beinginclined inwardly to points inwardly of the cross members of theunderframe.

weaves 1.4. In a dump car, the combination with an underframe includinga center sill structure and cross-members; of end walls; side Walls,each side wall having the greater portion thereof extending verticallyand said vertical portions determining substantially the maximum overallwidth-of the car, each side wall having a portion at one end thereofinwardly offset from the main portion to thereby provide space for aladder structure disposed within said planes defining the maximumoverall width of the car, the lower portions of said side walls beinginclined inwardly to points inwardly of the cross members of theunderframe; and side wall stakes secured to the inner faces of said sidewalls.

15. In a. railway car, the combination with i a car body, opposite sidesof which have the lower portions thereof inwardly deflected; of aplurality of inner stakes secured along the inner faces of said sidewalls; a flat plate secured to the outer face of each car. side; aplurality of 'crossbeams extending transversely of the car and. securedto the aforesaid outer plates and to said stakes; and filler membersdisposed in the plane of the cross-beams, and secured thereto and alsoto the aforesaid outer plates and to the side walls of said car and saidstakes.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 21st day of November 1923.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

